TheMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) along with the VietnamFarmers’ Union (VFU) and Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) have signed acoordination programme to implement the National Assembly’s target of having15,000 agricultural cooperatives and cooperative alliances operatingeffectively by 2020.

Speaking at a conference inHanoi on April 12, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen XuanCuong said cooperatives play a significant role in developing agriculture.

He called on the politicalsystem and economic sectors to join hands to realise the goal.

The MARD and VCA have issueda joint resolution continuing reforming and developing cooperation inagriculture in 2016-2020 and signed collaboration programmes with 39 provincesnationwide.

Le Duc Thinh, DeputyDirector of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development Department under theministry, said the two sides have worked together to train managerial officialsof cooperatives, support them to make business plans, connect businesses andcooperatives and build chains of safe food stores.

The VFU Central Committeeand the MARD also inked a pact in March 2013 helping farmers developagricultural economy and build new rural areas in 2012-2020.

The VFU has opened 14,700training courses for 734,600 members of the union, cooperatives and cooperativealliances and provided vocational training for 362,000 workers in rural areasover the past six years.

In 2017, the country had about4,400 effective agricultural cooperatives.